A tax rate election, also called a rollback election or tax ratification election, is a vote by the voters of a jurisdiction to approve or reject a tax rate proposed by the governing body of a tax unit, such as a school board or city council.
In Texas, voter approval is required if a local government wishes to increase the amount of revenue it collects from property taxes by more than 3.5% per year.
The tax rate at which new revenue would exceed 3.5% is called the “voter-approval tax rate.”
When the governing body of a taxing unit adopts a tax rate that exceeds the 3.5% cap, a rollback election is automatically triggered. (However, water districts have different actions that trigger an automatic election).
The ballot for such an election will have a “for” or “against” proposition. If the majority of votes are cast in opposition to the adopted tax rate, the taxing unit may not raise its tax rate for the current year above the voter-approval tax rate.
Tax elections are held in November. More detailed information about tax rate elections is found in chapter 26 of the Tax Code.
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